LTE drove 2012 baseband IC growth, ranking

LONDON – The global cellular baseband processor market grew by 18 percent in 2012 to reach $17.8 billion, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics. LTE baseband shipments registered more than seven-fold growth in 2012 and partly due to high average selling prices LTE basebands accounted for 18 percent of total cellular baseband revenue in 2012, up from just 2 percent in 2011, the firm said.

Qualcomm, MediaTek, Intel, Broadcom and ST-Ericsson grabbed the top-five spots in the cellular baseband processor market, the firm estimates. Qualcomm led the way with 52 percent revenue share in 2012, followed by MediaTek with 12.5 percent revenue share and Intel with 12.3 percent revenue share.

"Strategy Analytics estimates that LTE basebands accounted for 21 percent of Qualcomm's total baseband shipments in 2012. Strategy Analytics believes that Qualcomm is well-positioned to improve its LTE product-mix further with the help of its strong relationships with global handset manufacturers," said Sravan Kundojjala, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, in a statement.

Stuart Robinson, director of the Strategy Analytics' handset component technologies service, "LTE basebands showed fastest growth among all air interface technologies and accounted for 18 percent of total cellular baseband revenue in 2012, up from just 2 percent in 2011."